Vinning: How/Where did you get the name Good Feelin Band and what happened to the ‘g’?

Knoblock: Well, the name was taken from a song recorded by the band Three Dog Night.

Acosta: The song “Good Feelin” was recorded over 30 years ago, we just added the word “band”; so there never was a “g” to drop! When it first came out, I would listen to the album that included that song every night in my room with my black light on, admiring my black light posters. I also used to jam to Alice Cooper in those days.

Vinning: I remember those days, I was like 6-7 years old sharing a room with my older brother, who also had the whole black-light-theme going on. The Iron Maiden ones used to scare me. Anyway, rumor has it that you guys have been together for 31 years, a rarity for local bands. So is there any truth to that rumor?

Knoblock: Yes, the rumor is true; the band has been in existence since 1977.

Acosta: In ’75-’76, around the time I graduated high school, Phil Knoblock and I began playing music together with different members. We began to book shows shortly after that and knew we needed a name for the band.

When I first met Phil Knoblock, we were looking for a drummer, and although he was a bit younger than the rest of us, we thought we’d give him a shot. We later learned that he could not only play the drums, but had an excellent voice as well. Phil and I became close friends, and he later married my sister and I then married his; making us double brother-in-laws.

Phil’s dad, my father-in-law, Verdie Knoblock, played lead guitar with the band for many years when we first started out. He was the backbone of our country-music sound and our success. From him, we learned that to be a successful dance band, we had to focus on audience reaction to our songs. He taught us how to make sure we were playing the right songs at the right times.

Vinning: Has everyone been in the band since its inception?

Knoblock: Well, myself, Willis Soignet and Sammy Acosta are original members and Phillip Guidry joined about six years later – so he’s only a 25-year veteran of the band.

Al Levron: Guess I’m the baby of the band, joining in 2003. (Hoffmann joined in February 2007, so Knoblock said that makes Hoffmann the baby.)

Vinning: What was the first show you ever played (when/where/and how old were you guys) and how well was it received? Did you get the standing ‘O’ or the big tomato throw?

Acosta: Wow, that’s hard to remember. What comes to mind is the “The Cow Palace” in Choctaw or Bayou Beouf. We played nothing but pure country western; Phil and I were just teenagers and we had to play every song twice, which was a common thing for country bands back then. Once you finished the song, you had to play a shorter version of the same song; couples would actually stay on the dance floor waiting for you to kick the song off again.

Vinning: So I hear that you guys are wedding reception madmen. Approximately how many weddings have you played and what was the craziest thing to happen to you at a wedding reception?

Knoblock: We have played 1,000 plus weddings. We’ve played so many weddings that we’ve actually performed for two generations of some families; both the parents and their kids weddings.

Guidry: Yeah, that’s actually happened several times. We’ve played for the parents and 25 years later for their children’s weddings.

Acosta: We are the perfect wedding band because of our song variation and the different musical backgrounds of our members: some country western and others more rock-n-roll.

Willis Soignet: Well, what about the time that girl walked into the band’s dressing rooms and all I had on was my underwear and a tuxedo shirt. I didn’t know what to do so I turned around and started singing ‘Old Time Rock and Roll’ by Bob Seger.

Vinning: That must have been hilarious, like the famous scene with Tom Cruise from the movie “Risky Business.” Well, I know Phil and Sammy have regular day jobs at Gulf Island and Cintas respectively, what about the rest of the band?

Knoblock: We all do, have ‘so called’ regular jobs, that is. Willis works as an electrician technician for AT&T, Phil Guidry with Dolphin Services, Al is a project manager for Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government, Keith is self-employed at Hoffmann Electric, and both Shannon and Robert work with Entergy.

Vinning: Wow, and most of you also have families, how do you manage to balance full-time day jobs, band performances and spending time with the family?

Knoblock: Family always comes first and everything else just falls into place.

Levron: That’s right, and we rarely take weekday gigs. Our performance schedule is booked around our family schedules. Life constantly provides us with a good mix of our art and our family and job responsibilities.

Willis Soignet: (With a slight look of disappointment on his face) You have to almost give up all other hobbies, like fishing.

Vinning: Do your families support the band; maybe attend a few or all of your shows?

Knoblock: I believe all of our families have given us full support and yes, they do attend our shows whenever possible.

Guidry: I would have to say yes to both; the proof lies in the fact that I’ve been married for 43 years and have two grown kids. I couldn’t have done it without their support.

Levron: My two sons are both in the music business and rarely get to see our gigs, but my wife sometimes brings our grandson to our family catered shows.

Willis Soignet: Yeah, our wives used to follow us around a lot and were called The Band-Aids.

Vinning: Phil, I was given your name as a contact for this article but not a contact number. It took me two days to track you down. I assumed it was fate when I decided to ask a complete stranger at a Houma store if he had ever heard of the band, he replied, “The Good Feelin Band? Hell Yes! I’ve heard of them; they played at a function I attended a few months back!” I decided to probe further and asked what he thought of the performance, to which he replied, “They were fantastic!” I guess my question is, do you guys always have this affect on fans?

Knoblock: Well, the excitement level of our shows kind of depends on the audience or event we’re playing for; hopefully, regardless of the event, everyone leaves with a Good Feelin.

Willis Soignet: (Smiling) Sometimes that happens and sometimes not.

Acosta: Just to clarify, we are more of a dance band than a show band. We aren’t there to entertain our audience with only our actions on stage; our real focus is on the dancing pleasure of our audience. Oh yeah, we are also known as the band that wears tuxedos at every wedding. We are definitely dressed for success.

Vinning: So the Thibodaux Firemen’s Fair is right around the corner and you guys are set to play May 2; following acts such as Blue Eyed Soul and Wayne Toups. What are your feelings about following or should I say closing or headlining for such well-known acts?

Knoblock: I think it is absolutely awesome; all of those guys are friends of ours.

Willis Soignet: That’s right and it is our turn to have the good spot.

Guidry: I love it and hope to hear some of the other earlier performances because I admire good musicians.

Acosta: Great spot! The old cliché is the more they drink, the better we sound. People will be on the dance floor for Wayne’s music; they will stay right there when Good Feelin hits the stage.

Vinning: After 31 years of live performances, what lies ahead for the future of the band?

Acosta: I think we all take it one gig at a time and thank God for each day we are fortunate enough to have each other as close friends and family.

Levron: We just hope to keep the quality of our performances high … and, well, who knows?

Willis Soignet: I know – more and more performances.

Knoblock: No big surprises at this stage of the game; we’ll be doing more of the same – giving the audience what they want and staying current by always learning more music.

Vinning: Why fix what ain’t broke, I always say. Besides the Firemen’s Fair, where else can your fans catch up with the Good Feelin Band?

Knoblock: Before the fair you can catch us April 19 at Sparh’s in Houma and April 26 at the Cajun Country Event Center in Raceland; after the fair we’ll repeat at Spahr’s on May 31 and play the Piazza Bar in Houma, on July 26.

Vinning: What can people who have never seen you guys perform expect to see or hear at one of your shows?

Knoblock: A wide variety of music to please all ages.

Willis Soignet: They can expect to see us. Oh yeah, and a wide variety of music; and if they are ready to have a good time, we’ll give them a Good Feelin.

Vinning: And so you have from what I have heard. What advice can you give to upstart bands that might help them carry on for 30 or more years together without losing their sanity or wanting to kill each other?

Knoblock: Just remember it’s not really about you (the band); It is all about the audience. They are the reason you are there.

Willis Soignet: Value the friendships more than the music and you just might make it.

Guidry: And learn to laugh at your own mistakes, to be humble, and to be responsible.

Acosta: This is an easy one. Priority 1 must be the placing of character over musical talent. Priority 2 is that it helps to have spouses attend the gigs, because they eventually become close friends and start doing things together. Imagine being in a band where all the wives hate each other – I don’t think they’d make it quite 30 years.

Vinning: Does anyone have any regrets after 31 years of playing music?

Levron: My hearing is not quite what it used to be. I should have practiced hearing conservation (ear plugs) long ago.

Willis Soignet: Regrets, not at all, in fact, I’m trying for another 31 years.

Guidry: None, especially since we can more or less ‘cherry pick’ our gigs now. When I first started with the band, we were playing 120-plus gigs a year, now we play just over 50.

Acosta: Absolutely not! I’ve been able to transfer the skills learned in this band to playing in our church for selected masses and celebrations throughout the year. Phil Knoblock and Guidry also play in our church, St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church.

Vinning: How can fans or persons interested in obtaining more information on the band contact you? Does the band have an e-mail address or an internet webpage?

Knoblock: Good Feelin can be booked by phoning 985-446-2563 or accessing the Good Feelin band on MySpace.com

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